DUNKESWELL EX-SOLDIER ESOUND COLLINS FOUND GUILTY OF CHILD SEX IMAGE OFFENSES IN EXETER

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the small community of Dunkeswell, a man with a military background has been convicted of possessing indecent images of children on his electronic devices. The defendant, Esmond Collins, a 51-year-old former soldier, was found guilty at Exeter Crown Court after a detailed trial that spanned three days.

During the proceedings, it was revealed that police executed a raid on Collins’s residence in Dunkeswell on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. During this operation, officers seized two devices—an iPhone and an iPad—which were subsequently subjected to forensic analysis. The investigation uncovered a disturbing collection of images and search terms linked to child exploitation, including references to the term 'Lolita.'

Prosecutor Mr. Rowan Jenkins explained that some of the images were stored in a DCIM folder exclusive to the mobile phone, indicating they were not stored in any cloud account or external storage. The devices were secured with passwords, yet the analysis revealed that they had been used to search the internet for terms associated with child abuse, raising serious concerns about the intent behind these searches.

According to the evidence presented, authorities recovered a total of 108 images from the mobile phone, with 44 classified as the most severe category, depicting penetrative acts involving children. The iPad contained 123 images, 30 of which fell into the highest category of concern. The forensic experts testified that the likelihood of these images appearing on the devices through innocent means was extremely low, especially given the nature of the search terms and the content found.

Throughout the trial, Collins maintained his innocence, asserting that he had no sexual interest in children and that he had never intentionally searched for or downloaded such images. He claimed that someone else, possibly someone with access to his login details, might have viewed or transferred the images onto his devices without his knowledge. Collins, who served as a corporal in the army with deployments in Cyprus and during the Gulf War, expressed confusion over how the images appeared on his devices.

Judge Anna Richardson, presiding over the case, sentenced Collins to sign the sex offenders’ register. She also ordered the probation service to prepare a pre-sentence report, emphasizing that all sentencing options remain open when Collins returns to court next month. The case has raised concerns about privacy, security, and the potential for misuse of personal devices, especially among individuals with military backgrounds or those living in small communities like Dunkeswell.